WOMB FLUID A STEM-CELL TROVE: DOCS (Wake Forest/ Harvard report)

NY POST ^ | January 8, 2007 | Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[Liz]

Scientists said they had found a plentiful source of stem cells that sidesteps the controversy over destroying human embryos.....Researchers at Wake Forest and Harvard reported stem cells drawn from amniotic fluid donated by pregnant women hold much the same promise as embryonic stem cells........they were able to extract the stem cells without harm to mother or fetus and turn their discovery into several different tissue cell types, including brain, liver and bone. "Our hope is that these cells will provide a valuable resource for tissue repair and for engineered organs....." said Dr. Anthony Atala, of Wake Forest.....

[Liz]

Other research reports say embilical cords, usually discarded upon a baby's birth, contain embryonic cells that hold promise for future stem cell research.

Similarly, the NIH reported that baby teeth contain stem cells that appear more versatile than adult stem cells (and also avoids the controversy over embryonic stem cells).

Some parents are preserving baby teeth (instead of letting the "tooth fairy" have them) b/c of the stem cell potential.

[MadIvan]

It's interesting that many of the best hopes from stem cells require carrying a baby to term. It's just as interesting that the least promising avenues come from embryos and aborted fetuses.

Regards, Ivan

[alienken]

Stem cell research. Another issue for the Dems. GONE.

[Non-Sequitur]

But I thought that this research had no promise at all and was a waste of time, and that adult stem cells were the only way to go? Or so said Rush.

[aruanan]

Other research reports say embilical cords, usually discarded upon a baby's birth, contain embryonic cells that hold promise for future stem cell research.

The stem cells in umbilical cords are adult, not embryonic, stem cells.

[Non-Sequitur]

It's interesting that many of the best hopes from stem cells require carrying a baby to term. It's just as interesting that the least promising avenues come from embryos and aborted fetuses.

I don't think that's what they're saying at all. They're presenting evidence that embryonic stem cells can be obtained from sources other than embryos themselves. It's a different source for the same types of stem cells that Limbaugh & Co. keep saying are a waste of time anyway.

[agere_contra]

The stem cells in umbilical cords are adult, not embryonic, stem cells.

Ditto.

[Jemian]

Do stem cells need to be compatible with a recipient? I am bumfuzzled about this.

[8mmMauser]

Pinged from Terri Dailies

8mm

[saganite]

LOL! I posted this earlier but it's a dead thread because of the title of the post. True to the mods rules I used the original title which wasn't dramatic or informative. Glad to see it's getting some notice now.

[Guenevere]

Thank-you Ivan....Well said.

[saganite]

Non

This is about embryonic stem cells taken from the amniotic fluid after a baby is born, not fetal stem cells. It doesn't involve the termination of a fetus, so in that respect Rush is still right.

[Liz]

Whatever the current medical parameters for stem cell usage are, they are bound to change as the research moves forward.

[syriacus]

It's a different source for the same types of stem cells that Limbaugh & Co. keep saying are a waste of time anyway.

Nope.

[Liz]

Heh----nice take. Inhibiting the left is a good thing.

[Liz]

It's interesting that many of the best hopes from stem cells require carrying a baby to term. It's just as interesting that the least promising avenues come from embryos and aborted fetuses.

Worthy of a second read. Thanks.

[syriacus]

They're presenting evidence that embryonic stem cells can be obtained from sources other than embryos themselves.

Question of the day: How much amniotic fluid surrounds an embryo?

[kidd]

The entire reason for the push for embryonic stem cell research was to justify abortions.

The embryonic stem cells themselves are still highly carcinogenic, whether they come from a dead human or from amniotic fluid, and still do more harm than good.

Just watch the interest in embryonic stem cell research dry up.

[aruanan]

This is about embryonic stem cells taken from the amniotic fluid after a baby is born, not fetal stem cells. It doesn't involve the termination of a fetus, so in that respect Rush is still right.

The stem cells in amniotic fluid are, technically, fetal, since a baby, until it is born, is a fetus. They aren't embryonic since the cells involved in that stage of development are long gone.

It's a different source for the same types of stem cells that Limbaugh & Co. keep saying are a waste of time anyway.

Nope. These are not the totipotent cells known as embryonic stem cells. And it's not Limbaugh & Co., it's the group of researchers who have discovered what really works versus what has never worked. The reason they went in the direction of using adult stem cells is because it worked. Those stem cell researchers who rolled their dice on embryonic stem cells have come up snake-eyes. They're upset and they want what they consider to be their piece of the NIH pie.

[Liz]

SOURCE NIH: Amniotic fluid is a clear, slightly yellowish liquid that surrounds the unborn baby (fetus) during pregnancy. It is contained in the amniotic sac. The fetus floats in the amniotic fluid. During pregnancy the amniotic fluid increases in volume as the fetus grows. Amniotic fluid volume is greatest at approximately 34 weeks of gestation, when it averages 800 ml. Approximately 600 ml of amniotic fluid surrounds the baby at full term (40 weeks gestation). This fluid is constantly circulated by the baby swallowing and "inhaling" existing fluid and replacing it through "exhalation" and urination. Amniotic fluid accomplishes numerous functions for the fetus, including:

Protection from outside injury by cushioning sudden blows or movements

Allowing for freedom of fetal movement and permitting symmetrical musculoskeletal development

Maintaining a relatively constant temperature for the environment surrounding the fetus, thus protecting the fetus from heat loss

Permitting proper lung development

---

Update Date: 12/1/2005

Updated by: Sharon Roseanne Thompson, M.D., M.P.H., Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.